Running out of time wasn't the only new problem for Azrael and the others.
All around them, a strange hissing echoed.
"Why are you hissing like that?" Azrael asked Kaya.
"It's not me, Master Azrael…" Kaya replied.
"That's the snake's stomach acid working on the sphere. Without toxin resistance, you'd already be incapacitated," Mary said.
She was right. Swallowing them hadn't been some mindless tantrum after Azrael's attacks. It was the cleanest way to kill anything that got too close. Snakes could unhinge their jaws to gulp prey whole, and once you were inside, their stomach acid did the rest.
Plenty of adventurers had probably died to that exact combo.
"Let's see what kind of law I can control in here," Azrael said.
A golden light flared from the depths of the snake's stomach and blinded him mid-sentence.
Instinctively, he threw a hand over his eyes and turned toward the glow anyway. After a few blinks, his vision cleared.
Wedged in the seething acid sat a golden chest.
A sharp gasp escaped him. "To think I'd find what I desire most in a place like this! Life can really surprise you at any moment!"
"Could that chest be why this snake evolved into a boss?" Kaya wondered.
"You mean?" Azrael pressed.
"Powerful variants of Shadow Forest Snakes, the kind that become dungeon bosses, are often found along the shores of the River Damases. It's not a dungeon by any means, and yet…" Kaya began.
Mary picked up the thread. "And yet those monsters still appear there. You think consuming rare chests like this triggers their evolution?"
"Yes!"
Azrael rubbed his hands together and grinned. Doesn't that sound like a way to make powerful monsters? I do have 2 chests in my dungeon that some snakes could eat. Anyway, I want that big chest!
"I'll summon the new law!" he shouted.
From his skin, black fog seeped out and gathered above his palm into a small cloud. It reminded everyone of the venom the boss had encased them in before gobbling them up.
With a curse, Azrael clenched his fist around it. "Useless shit!"
Poisoning the monster from the inside would take time he didn't have, even if the venom worked at all. Worse, the fog had no solid structure, so it was useless as a rope to drag the chest.
"I'll do it the reliable way. I'll summon 1 sphere at a time and blink in. I'm not letting any big chest slip out of my hands," Azrael said.
Stubborn as he sounded, Mary didn't even bother stopping him.
Kaya, however, hesitated. "Will that be okay? If something happens to Master Azrael, won't we be stranded here?"
If Azrael died or used the door himself, it would be over for them. They'd perish in the boss's stomach. It was a fair worry, but Azrael dismissed it.
"Even if it meant losing half my body, I'd still do everything I can to blink back to Mary. Just stick close to her and wait for me," he said.
With an amused smile, Mary twirled her umbrella by its handle.
Kaya nodded. "Okay."
A flick of Azrael's fingers summoned a second Conditional Sphere, and he blinked inside it.
Thanks to the chest's glow, the jump was easy. It gave him a clear point to aim for.
Sphere by sphere, he repeated the trick until he finally wrapped the chest inside his zone.
Even some acid seeped into the zone with it, but he still managed to blink onto the chest.
Without warning, the snake bucked and rolled. Azrael lost his footing and nearly slipped into the stomach acid, but his experience from the Death Seesaws Dungeon kicked in.
Shifting his weight, he rode the sway and steadied himself.
That was close! But I must have looked cool, too. I'm starting to like these dangerous experiences more and more. Eh, shit, it stinks so much in here. I need to get out ASAP!
Another problem surfaced.
How the hell do I open a chest while I'm standing on top of it?
He froze with a deadpan expression until a system prompt appeared.
[Would you like to receive the reward from the golden chest?]
I truly live in good times! Gimme that reward and I'll ditch this place!
[You have received a new skill: Law Of Control (B)]
At once, the snake's interior started convulsing and tightening.
Up ahead, strange cries echoed, raw and painful.
Over his shoulder, Azrael spotted Mary and Kaya struggling for air. They pinched their noses, trying to make the stench even slightly bearable.
Things weren't going his way.
Fuck it, let's go back home. I'll find that snake motherfucker next time!
He blinked back to his companions and opened the door to his dungeon, pulling them inside, then stepping through last.
—
Outside, the snake convulsed, thrashing through the forest. Its hissing sent weaker monsters fleeing.
In seconds, it shrank at an unbelievable speed, reverting to what it used to be.
A Shadow Forest Snake.
As its intelligence dropped, confusion hit it fast.
As if searching for an answer, it looked around.
A moment later, it wandered into an adventurer who killed it with a single slash.
—
Face-first, Azrael hit the floor of his dungeon.
For once, the cold stone felt better than ever. He opened his mouth and dragged in deep breaths. The air tasted so good he almost thought his dungeon had evolved.
After all, he'd thrown a lot of snakes and corpses in here.
To his surprise, most of those corpses had been eaten by the living Shadow Forest Snakes.
"I didn't anticipate cannibalism," Mary commented as she stared at the spectacle.
Azrael grabbed his head. "It's not weird. I want to eat women too, but goddamn, why are they so hungry?! This was supposed to be a glorious evolution!"